Minneapolis Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission Exec Dir BILL LESTER on Thursday announced that "he will leave the position on July 31, after 25 years on the job," according to Meryhew & Walsh of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The announcement comes amid "the imminent demise" of the commission, which will be "fully dissolved in mid-August." The commission owns and operates the Metrodome. Lester, "who will be paid $77,500 in severance, will consult with" the newly formed Minneapolis Sports Facilities Authority through the end of the year (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/20).

NASCAR's Mike Lynch spoke at a White House event on sports and sustainability

In Daytona Beach, Dinah Voyles Pulver reports a White House event on sports and sustainability Thursday morning "showcased many of NASCAR's green initiatives over the past several years." NASCAR Green Innovation Managing Dir MIKE LYNCH "participated in a panel discussion with three other professional sports officials." Lynch said, "Performance doesn't have to be sacrificed for sustainability, and that's our opportunity." The other panelists included Pirates Chair BOB NUTTING and Hockey HOFer MIKE RICHTER (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 7/20).

COURT REPORT: YAHOO SPORTS' Rand Getlin reported Rams DE ROBERT QUINN "has been accused of fraudulently extracting nearly $300,000 in expenses from his former agent." The lawsuit, part of a "yearlong legal battle between agent CARL CAREY and Quinn, preceded last week's hearing in Alexandria, Va., between the two parties" before NFLPA Arbitrator ROGER KAPLAN. Kaplan will "decide whether Quinn owes Carey up to $282,000 in commission on the $9.4 million rookie contract the player signed with the Rams" in July '11. Carey contends that Quinn "wrongfully terminated him in favor of another agency, Impact Sports, but only after receiving as much money and as many services from Carey as possible" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/19).

LEAVING THE VALLEY: ESPN.com’s Don Van Natta Jr. wrote Penn State BOT member STEVE GARBAN “resigned Thursday, bowing to pressure by some of his fellow trustees who were angry at him for failing to alert them about the JERRY SANDUSKY criminal investigation in April 2011.” Garban is “the first Penn State trustee to quit since the release of the Freeh Report” (ESPN.com, 7/19).

HOPE FLOATS: CSNBayArea.com columnist ANN KILLION has written a new book about U.S. women's national soccer team G HOPE SOLO titled “SOLO: A MEMOIR OF HOPE.” Killion said Solo is “really intriguing” and is the “most interesting female athlete ... because she's controversial.” Killion: “Many of our most popular female athletes kind of fall into the same mold of the ‘girl next door,’ which is great and there are a lot of wonderful women. But Hope has really pushed the boundaries. She says what she thinks. ... She’s proven that being the athlete is more important than being really likable or being really popular” ("Chronicle Live," Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 7/19).

NAMES: Purdue Univ. booster CARL BIMEL donated $2M to the school's football team. Purdue said that it will name its two outdoor practice fields the Bimel Practice Complex in appreciation of the gift. Bimel in '04 also endowed a football scholarship (ESPN.com, 7/19)....Phillies 1B RYAN HOWARD Thursday night served dinner to guests as part of the Celebrity Servers Series at Morton's the Steakhouse in Philadelphia's Center City (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/20)....The Devils during the team's Stanley Cup Final run this spring raised a record $68,000 for the franchise's Devils Care foundation (Devils)....Children Uniting Nations, a non-profit organization working with at-risk and foster youth, honored MLS Chivas USA co-Owner & President ANTONIO CUE Thursday with the CUN Humanitarian Award in recognition of his dedication to children's issues and efforts toward keeping sports programs in schools (SOCCERNATION.com, 7/18)....Former NFLer TIKI BARBER Thursday married former NBC intern TRACI LYNN JOHNSON (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/20).

IN MEMORY: Author ROBERT CREAMER, who joined SI as "one of its first writers," died Wednesday at the age of 90 after a bout with prostate cancer. Creamer wrote several baseball books, including "acclaimed biographies" of BABE RUTH and CASEY STENGEL. He also "contributed to films and television shows about baseball," including KEN BURNS''94 documentary"Baseball" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/20)....JESSICA GHAWI, an aspiring sportscaster who wrote under the name Jessica Redfield for sports blog Bleacher Report, is one of the 12 people confirmed dead as a result of the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater early Friday morning (Mult., 7/20).